Teamwork between generations in the digital age

Generations use digital technology differently

Image AI-generated: A girl stands in front of an aquarium, Rosemarie Thiedmann points to the scene.

A three-year-old girl stands in front of an aquarium. She observes the fish, then steps closer and makes a typical zoom gesture on the glass pane. Placess two fingers on the glass pane and spreads them apart. Nothing happens. The fish remains small. The world doesn't react.

A quiet moment that tells a lot. For this child, the gesture is second nature. She hasn't consciously learned it. She has picked it up and adopted it. Although she is only three years old, she is already thinking in digital terms. She grew up in the digital world. She is a digital native.

Digitally influenced or digitally immigrated?

Us older people didn't grow up in the digital world. We didn't use tablets in our youth, didn't watch explanatory videos, and didn't ask Alexa what the weather would be like tomorrow. We could only write letters, correct them with Tipp-Ex, and eventually insert floppy disks into drives. I never gave a thought to working from home, because it would have been absurd to bring the typewriter home.

These experiences shape us. They determine whether technology seems natural to us and whether we fundamentally think in digital terms. While digital natives experiment intuitively, digital immigrants are more likely to consciously and sometimes laboriously familiarize themselves with new systems. We older people don't reject technology. Our brains were simply trained differently during crucial adolescence. Those who have learned to think analogically often take longer to master digital processes because patterns learned from an early age can't simply be overwritten.

Potential for conflict in everyday life

At work, this often leads to potential conflict. Young team members wonder why emails are so long-winded or why a phone call is expected when a text message would suffice. Older team members, on the other hand, perceive some communication as cursory or rude.

Digital natives grow up with changing interfaces. They learn casually, experiment, and aren't afraid of destroying the internet. They know that nothing is irreversible. Digital immigrants, on the other hand, are more often confronted with the worry of breaking something or making a fool of themselves. This gives rise to reluctance or the desire to stick with the familiar and proven.

Some managers shake their heads at the desire for home office. But hand on heart, if this option had been available when I was younger, I would have been one of the first to ask for it.

Consider digital self-image

Digital transformation cannot be achieved solely through one and the same training course that is designed to suit everyone. It requires genuine connectivity for all team members. Therefore, it is crucial for managers to develop a conscious awareness of their team members' digital self-image. Young people should understand that hesitation is not always a sign of backwardness, but sometimes a sign of respect and a certain shyness towards digital complexity. Older people should recognize that younger team members learn by trial and error and thus often progress faster, even if it may seem chaotic at first glance. The better teams consider the different ways people access technology, the clearer it becomes what each individual really needs for a successful transformation.

Why not invite your team members to share their first conscious experiences with the internet during a meeting? In mixed-age teams, some may be surprised at how diverse these stories are.

By accepting these differences, young and old can learn from each other.

Some bring experience, structure, and vision; others bring speed, curiosity, and digital intuition. In between lie countless opportunities.